485 HISTORY OF BUILDING THE MAIN DAMS AND RESERVOIRS Gheorghe Romanescu, Ana-Maria Romanescu 1 , Gabriela Romanescu 2 1 ”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Department of Geography, Carol I, 20A, 700505, Iasi, Romania, Email: [email protected]2 School Nr. 22 Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Str. Ion Creanga, 27, 700317, Iasi, Romania Abstract The large dams and reservoirs have multiple functions: hydropower, supply with drinking or industrial water, irrigations, pisciculture, leisure, etc. The oldest reservoirs date to the Antiquity (circa 4,000 years ago) and they were built by the Arabs. The most numerous are constructed in the areas with rain deficit: Moldavia (with the largest pond, Dracsani), the Transylvanian Plain, Dobroudja. The ones in the mountainous areas are mainly used to obtain electricity (Izvorul Muntelui, Vidra, Vidraru, etc). The largest water bodies in Romania are found in the Tulcea County (considering the existence of the Danube Delta), Iași and Botoșani (with few precipitations, but with many ponds). Most dams were built in the period 1960-1990. The oldest reservoir in Romania (Taul Mare) was built in 1740 in the Metaliferi Mountains. The most numerous reservoirs are located in the Siret hydrographical basin. The Prut River comprises the largest reservoir built on the Romanian rivers (Stânca-Costești). The oldest hydropower plant in Romania was built in 1890 on the Dâmbovita River (Bucharest). The Romanian territory has 246 large dams, more than half of which are less than 40 m high. Keywords: manmade dams, reservoirs, hydropower potential, water resources 1. INTRODUCTION According to the definition provided by Forel, (1892) lake is “a body of standing water occupying a basin and lacking continuity with the sea.” The term lake applies to all natural or artificial depressions containing water, “with their own life and certain autonomy” (Dussart, 1992). According to the international treatises on limnology, lake is “an inland body of water of considerable size” (International Glossary of Hydrology, 1992) or “a sweet or salt water body which occupies a closed depression on the surface of a continent” (Dictionnaire Encyclopédique Alpha, 1983). By their nature, lakes can be natural or manmade (artificial). Concerning the artificial lakes, the following characteristics are taken into account: purpose (hydropower, industrial or drinking water supply, irrigations, pisciculture, leisure, balneotherapy, waste settling, mineral flotation, etc); size (first, the water volume). The reservoirs in Romania comprise 13 billion m 3 of water, which means 33% of the total water volume transited within a year by the rivers draining the country’s territory (Jelev, 1992). The category of artificial lakes tends to occupy a tremendous surface among all the lakes on Terra. Currently, 40 artificial lakes exceed 1,000 km 2 (a total of 114,000 km 2 ) and their total volume is 1,675 km 3 . Among these gigantic lakes, almost half belong to Russia (Volgograd, Kuibâşev, Ţimleask, Novosibirsk, Krasnoiarsk, Bratsk), while the rest to the USA (Mead, Glen Canyon, Fast Peak, Garrison, Oahe), to Canada (Pearce-Viuner Grew), to China (Three Gorges), to Argentina (Itaipu), to Egypt (Nasser), to Niger (Kandji), to Zambia (Kariba), etc (Romanescu et al., 2013). The largest manmade lake is Volta, in Sahel, Africa (8,730 km 2 ), while the one with the greatest volume is Bratsk, on the Angara River, with 169.4 km 3 (Billington et al., 2005; Biswas & Tortojada, 2001; Brandt & Hassan, 2000; Romanian Committee on Large Dams, 2000; Dăscălescu, 2000; International Commission on Large Dams, 1999, 2010; Mermel, 1989; Romanian National Committee on Large Dams, 2000; World Commission on Dams Regional Consultation, 1999; World Commission on Dams, 2000a,b). The disadvantages of reservoirs have often been underlined by the specialized literature, because the anthropic activity does not always have positive outcomes: it produces alterations in the natural flow regime of rivers and it presents a high impact on the environment by modifying the ecosystems, etc (Touchart, 2006). By building the dam of Assouan, on the valley of the Nile, its floodplain and delta no longer receive enough alluvia. Because part of the waters of Don and Kuban are retained, the Sea of Azov receives a smaller amount of water. 2. METHODOLOGY The consultation of the specialized literature within international publications. The positioning of the large dams and of reservoirs on a general map and comparing them by size, shape, utility, etc. The largest 2 nd International Conference - Water resources and wetlands. 11-13 September, 2014 Tulcea (Romania); Available online at http://www.limnology.ro/water2014/proceedings.html Editors: Petre Gâştescu ; Włodzimierz Marszelewski ; Petre Bretcan; ISSN: 2285-7923; Pages: 485-492; Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license ;
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485
HISTORY OF BUILDING THE MAIN DAMS AND RESERVOIRS
Gheorghe Romanescu, Ana-Maria Romanescu1, Gabriela Romanescu2 1”Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi, Faculty of Geography and Geology, Department of Geography,
Carol I, 20A, 700505, Iasi, Romania, Email: [email protected] 2School Nr. 22 Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu, Str. Ion Creanga, 27, 700317, Iasi, Romania
Abstract
The large dams and reservoirs have multiple functions: hydropower, supply with drinking or industrial water, irrigations, pisciculture, leisure, etc. The oldest reservoirs date to the Antiquity (circa 4,000 years ago) and they were built by the Arabs. The most numerous are constructed in the areas with rain deficit: Moldavia (with the largest pond, Dracsani), the Transylvanian Plain, Dobroudja. The ones in the mountainous areas are mainly used to obtain electricity (Izvorul Muntelui, Vidra, Vidraru, etc). The largest water bodies in Romania are found in the Tulcea County (considering the existence of the Danube Delta), Iași and Botoșani (with few precipitations, but with many ponds). Most dams were built in the period 1960-1990. The oldest reservoir in Romania (Taul Mare) was built in 1740 in the Metaliferi Mountains. The most numerous reservoirs are located in the Siret hydrographical basin. The Prut River comprises the largest reservoir built on the Romanian rivers (Stânca-Costești). The oldest hydropower plant in Romania was built in 1890 on the Dâmbovita River (Bucharest). The Romanian territory has 246 large dams, more than half of which are less than 40 m high. Keywords: manmade dams, reservoirs, hydropower potential, water resources
1. INTRODUCTION
According to the definition provided by Forel, (1892) lake is “a body of standing water occupying a
basin and lacking continuity with the sea.” The term lake applies to all natural or artificial depressions
containing water, “with their own life and certain autonomy” (Dussart, 1992). According to the international
treatises on limnology, lake is “an inland body of water of considerable size” (International Glossary of
Hydrology, 1992) or “a sweet or salt water body which occupies a closed depression on the surface of a
By their nature, lakes can be natural or manmade (artificial). Concerning the artificial lakes, the
following characteristics are taken into account: purpose (hydropower, industrial or drinking water supply,
irrigations, pisciculture, leisure, balneotherapy, waste settling, mineral flotation, etc); size (first, the water
volume). The reservoirs in Romania comprise 13 billion m3 of water, which means 33% of the total water
volume transited within a year by the rivers draining the country’s territory (Jelev, 1992).
The category of artificial lakes tends to occupy a tremendous surface among all the lakes on Terra.
Currently, 40 artificial lakes exceed 1,000 km2 (a total of 114,000 km2) and their total volume is 1,675 km3.
Among these gigantic lakes, almost half belong to Russia (Volgograd, Kuibâşev, Ţimleask, Novosibirsk,
Krasnoiarsk, Bratsk), while the rest to the USA (Mead, Glen Canyon, Fast Peak, Garrison, Oahe), to Canada
(Pearce-Viuner Grew), to China (Three Gorges), to Argentina (Itaipu), to Egypt (Nasser), to Niger (Kandji),
to Zambia (Kariba), etc (Romanescu et al., 2013). The largest manmade lake is Volta, in Sahel, Africa (8,730
km2), while the one with the greatest volume is Bratsk, on the Angara River, with 169.4 km3 (Billington et
al., 2005; Biswas & Tortojada, 2001; Brandt & Hassan, 2000; Romanian Committee on Large Dams, 2000;
Dăscălescu, 2000; International Commission on Large Dams, 1999, 2010; Mermel, 1989; Romanian
National Committee on Large Dams, 2000; World Commission on Dams Regional Consultation, 1999;
World Commission on Dams, 2000a,b).
The disadvantages of reservoirs have often been underlined by the specialized literature, because the
anthropic activity does not always have positive outcomes: it produces alterations in the natural flow regime
of rivers and it presents a high impact on the environment by modifying the ecosystems, etc (Touchart,
2006). By building the dam of Assouan, on the valley of the Nile, its floodplain and delta no longer receive
enough alluvia. Because part of the waters of Don and Kuban are retained, the Sea of Azov receives a
smaller amount of water.
2. METHODOLOGY
The consultation of the specialized literature within international publications. The positioning of the
large dams and of reservoirs on a general map and comparing them by size, shape, utility, etc. The largest
2nd International Conference - Water resources and wetlands. 11-13 September, 2014 Tulcea (Romania); Available online at http://www.limnology.ro/water2014/proceedings.html Editors: Petre Gâştescu ; Włodzimierz Marszelewski ; Petre Bretcan; ISSN: 2285-7923; Pages: 485-492; Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license ;
486
dams and reservoirs in Romania were included into types and compared to the other ones in the world. In the
field of hydrotechnical works, Romania ranks high on a global scale, with a total of 246 large dams.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The dam represents any hydrotechnical work with an existing or proposed structure, capable of
ensuring the permanent or temporary accumulation of water, of liquid or solid industrial waste deposited
underwater (from the chemical or energetic industry and from the mud settling ponds of the mining
industry), whose breaking can produce the uncontrolled loss of the accumulated content, with highly
significant negative effects upon the social, economic and/or natural environment (definition comprised in
the Emergency Ordinance no. 244/2000 on the safety of the dams – republished).
Figure 1. Distribution of large reservoirs and of the number corresponding to each State
(after Lehner et al., 2010)
The countries with an aggravated precipitation deficit – and liquid flow, implicitly – on the
hydrographical arteries are forced to build dams and reservoirs. The necessity of building dams in Romania
is due to the fact that 95% of the rivers are less than 50 km long. Only four Romanian rivers exceed 500 km
in length: Siret, Prut, Mureş and Olt. The mean multiannual flow of the Romanian rivers only reaches 1,172
m3/s, which means a volume of 37 million m3. The territorial repartition and the unequal flow regime
determine the rivers to supply an annual volume of only 5-6 million m3/s (Gâștescu, 1971; Gâștescu & Rusu,